Daily Current Affairs for Competitive Exams – 15 March 2018

1. World Consumer Rights Day: 15 March

The World Consumer Rights Day was observed across the world on March 15, 2018 with an aim to promote basic rights of consumers and to ensure that these rights are respected and protected.

It provides an opportunity to promote the basic rights of all consumers and demand those rights that must be respected and protected.

The theme for World Consumer Rights Day 2018 will be ‘Making digital marketplaces fairer’.

2. Lok Sabha passes bill on seeking damages for breach of contract.

A bill proposing to grant a party the right to seek damages from the other side in case of a breach of a business contract and to reduce discretion of courts in such matters was passed by the Lok Sabha today amid din.

The House passed The Specific Relief (Amendment) Bill, 2018 by a voice vote even as several parties were protesting in the Well over different issues, including the PNB scam.

Several amendments moved by N K Premchandran (RSP) were negated by voice vote

3. Finland tops 2018 global happiness index.

The World Happiness Report published ranked 156 countries by happiness levels, based on factors such as life expectancy, social support and corruption.

According to report, Finland is the happiest place to live. Norway and Denmark ranked second and third respectively.

India ranked 133rd in the report. Burundi ranked last in the index.

4. Angela Merkel elected to fourth term as German chancellor.

Angela Merkel was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany after lawmakers voted to re-elect her as leader in a close vote on Wednesday morning.

She will now begin a historic fourth term as Chancellor.

The vote in parliament ended almost six months of political turmoil after the federal election.

5. WHO member-countries commit to end TB by 2030.

Member-countries of the World Health Organisation (WHO) South-East Asia Region, including India, on Wednesday committed to intensifying efforts to eradicate tuberculosis by 2030.

“The member-countries unanimously agreed to actualise and intensify essential actions agreed to in the Delhi Call to Action, adopted in March last year, to accelerate efforts to end TB in the region,” a statement adopted at the two-day Delhi End TB Summit that concluded here said.

6. Tax rates under GST are world’s second highest, says World Bank.

The tax rates under the Goods and Services Bill are among the world’s second highest, said World Bank in its report.

The GST was implemented by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government on July 1, 2017.

GST is one of the most complex with the second highest tax rate in the world among a sample of 115 countries which have a similar indirect tax system, the World Bank said in its bi-annual India Development Update released on Wednesday.

The GST at present has four tax slabs that are, 5%, 12%, 18%, and 28%. Currently, around 49 nations use a single GST slab of GST, while 28 countries use two slabs.